91É«ÇéƬ

THE oldest living thing in Britain is a tree: a yew of more than 5000 years. Often planted in cemeteries, the yew seems to mock the brief human span. Edward Milner’s The Tree Book, appropriately published by the Acacia imprint of Collins and Brown, is now available in paperback (pp 192, £10.99) in time for last minute present shoppers. It is a compendium of information about trees in Britain and Ireland: folklore, straightforward natural history, guidance on tree management and an appreciation of the role of the tree in the biosphere. So if you want to identify a species or fend off a witch, this is for you.